odgovorili

Odgovorili is a word from the South Slavic languages, most commonly seen in Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian. It is the masculine plural past active participle form of the verb odgovoriti, which means to answer or to reply. As a past participle, odgovrili appears in compound past constructions with the auxiliary verb biti (to be), typically in the order subject – auxiliary – participle, for example: Oni su odgovorili na pitanja.

Etymology and meaning: The verb odgovoriti is built from the prefix od- combined with the verb govoriti (to speak), conveying the sense of replying or giving an answer in return. The participle odgovrili retains the core meaning of having given an answer, and it can be used to describe actions completed in the past by a plural masculine or mixed-gender subject. Other gender and number forms exist to match the subject, such as odgovorio (masculine singular), odgovorila (feminine singular), odgovorilo (neuter singular), odgovorili (masculine plural), and odgovorile (feminine plural).

Usage: Odgovorili functions as the past participle and is often part of a past-tense clause when paired with biti, as in Oni su odgovorili na pitanja. It can also appear in participial phrases or as a predicate adjective in certain sentence constructions, agreeing with the subject in gender and number. The form changes to match the subject, so the appropriate form should be used to reflect who is performing the action.

See also: odgovoriti, odgovor, govoriti.